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LONDON: Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and the Sudanese military leader Gen. Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan have held talks about restoring security in Sudan, where civil war has raged for two years.

Al-Burhan, who presides over Sudan’s sovereign council, met with El-Sisi in Egypt’s El-Alamein City on Monday evening.

They discussed the ongoing conflict in Sudan between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and efforts to alleviate the humanitarian suffering in the country, the Egyptian president’s spokesman said.

The leaders “discussed the latest developments on the ground in Sudan, as well as regional and international efforts to restore peace and stability there,” the spokesman said. “President El-Sisi underscored Egypt’s steadfast position in support of Sudan’s unity, sovereignty, security, and stability.”

The two sides agreed on the “vital need” to provide support and assistance to the Sudanese people, given the severe humanitarian conditions caused by the ongoing conflict.

Egypt has supported the Sudanese military since the civil war began in April 2023 when an alliance between the RSF and Al-Burhan broke down and the paramilitary group seized the capital Khartoum.

The Sudanese Armed Forces retook the city in March but fighting has raged in other parts of the country, particularly in the Darfur region.

The military agreed on Saturday to a humanitarian ceasefire in El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur province, which has been besieged by the RSF and seen some of the worst fighting in recent months.

The UN estimates that the conflict has killed 20,000 people and driven more than 14 million form they homes.

LONDON: The Jordanian Ministry of Health announced that nine people died and 27 others were hospitalized this week due to poisoning after consuming alcoholic drinks contaminated with methanol.

The affected individuals are currently receiving intensive medical treatment, including dialysis to remove the toxic substance from their bloodstream, at hospitals in Zarqa, Amman and Balqa, Director of the Technical Affairs Department at the Ministry Imad Abu Yaqeen told Petra news agency.

Most patients were in a critical condition, he said, with some requiring ventilator support in intensive care units. Methanol, a highly toxic substance, is not intended for oral consumption and is used as a solvent in paints and as a fuel additive.

Abu Yaqeen said that dialysis remained the most crucial life-saving measure, along with ventilator support. However, these interventions might be less effective if significant amounts of methanol were ingested, he added.

He said that the first cases reported over the weekend were at Zarqa Government Hospital, and the ministry is continuing to enhance preparedness in the emergency and ambulance departments to handle any new cases.

On Monday, Jordan's Public Security Directorate, or PSD, arrested several individuals suspected of producing toxic alcoholic beverages using industrial methanol.

The PSD raided a factory where suspects purchased methyl alcohol and used it to manufacture illicit alcoholic beverages, as well as a warehouse that supplied the substance to the market. Additionally, authorities seized large quantities of alcohol from stores that the factory produced.